Friday, May 29, 2009

President Barack Obama says the nation for too long has failed to adequately protect the security of its computer networks, and he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job.

Anyone else think this is simply a disguise to allow Team O to police the Internet? Cyber-censorship, cyber-Brown Shirts patrol?

Call me paranoid, but this sounds suspicious. Don't we already have the FBI, CIA, NSA, and the Department of Homeland Security to handle all this? No, we need another czar because Rahmbo and the Arrogant One needs to have a White House staffer involved in everything.

WASHINGTON -- President Obama announced on Friday the creation of a "cyber czar" to oversee an enhanced security system for U.S. computer networks.

He also released a report recommending how to safeguard the nation's cyber network -- a review that was headed by former Bush administration official Melissa Hathaway.

"We're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country," he said, calling cyber threats one of the most serious economic and military dangers the nation faces.

Obama said this is "a transformational moment" for America, when computer networks are probed and attacked millions of times a day.

Obama said he will pick the person he wants to head up a new White House office of cyber security soon, and that person will report to the National Security Council as well as to the National Economic Council, in a nod to the importance of computers to the economy.

Officials say a handful of experts -- both in and out of government -- are under consideration for the post.

Obama depicted the U.S. as a digital nation that needs to provide the education required to keep pace with technology and attract and retain a cyber-savvy work force. He laid out broad goals for dealing with cyber threats and called for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats related to cyber security. But the president added that his administration will not dictate cybersecurity standards for private companies.

"The task I describe will not be easy," Obama said. "Protecting our prosperity and security in this globalized world is going to be a long, difficult struggle demanding patience and persistence over many years.

"But we need to remember we're only at the beginning," he said, asserting the information age is only in its infancy.

Obama has called digital security a top priority, whether it's guarding the computer systems that keep the lights on in a city and direct airliners to the right runway or those protecting customers who pay their bills online.

"Make no mistake, this world, cyberspace is a world that we depend on every single day," he said. "Cyberspace is real. So are the risks that come with it."